Staff Members:
Kyndra Laughery: (Teen Theater Director)
Kyndra is the director of our Teen Theater Program. She is a beloved member of the local improv group named theHamazons--a woman only group. She has worked for Planned Parenthood for 18 years prior to accepting her current directing position.
Board of Directors:
Julian Spalding: (President)
Julian has served on the boards of non-profits, including Very Special Arts, serving the developmentally challenged population in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Albuquerque Lesbian and Gay Chamber of Commerce; and SEED Graduate Institute in Albuquerque. In the 70s, he was the District Manager of United States Chamber of Commerce of Southern California. In the 80s, he and his partner, Terry, originated and conducted workshops for gay men in Albuquerque, San Diego and San Francisco. He published ABQarts, a magazine of the arts in Albuquerque for ten years until he sold it in 2008 to move to Ashland, the town of his birth. He and Terry are reinventing their lives in their new state.
Kirk Pederson: (Treasurer)
More to come about Krik...
Matthew Reynolds, M.A.T.:
Matthew is the director of the Drama Department at Crater Renaissance Academy in Central Point, Oregon. He serves on LBGTQA discussion panels in the community and at Southern Oregon University. Matthew helps with NSNS' Southern Oregon Gay Straight Alliance Support Network by serving as an advisor to Crater's GSA.
Frankie Swearingen: (Vice President)
Frankie is a graduate of the Southern Oregon Gay Straight Alliance Support Network and developed a GSA Manual for the youth in the high school she attended. She is a Southern Oregon University student and Lotus Rising Project youth board member.
Terry Brown:
Terry has a long history of working with at-risk youth. He served as Director of Juvenile Drug Court in Albuquerque New Mexico and supervised probation officers with Children Youth and Families department with the State of New Mexico. He has experience partnering and fund-raising with businesses and corporations in the community. He also has developed programs for youth and families working with other professionals. Terry is a student of Sacred Activism. He lives with his partner, Julian, in Talent.
Rich Rohde:
Rich is the Regional Director of Oregon Action in Southern Oregon. Working as a community organizer in the Rogue Valley for over 30 years, he is known and respected as a great motivator in social justice work. His organization is one of the first in the area to become an ally organization for LBGTQUI people.